Ordinary People
In her work, Kuleshova wants to share a discovery with her viewers – that ‘Ordinary People’ are just that – they enjoy tender moments, value happiness and the joy of everyday life despite open homophobia on TV, by politicians in Russian media, and by the Russian Church.
Wettelijke bescherming
In de internationale mensenrechten wetgeving bestaat geen expliciet “recht op seksualiteit”, maar dit recht komt wel voor in verschillende internationale verklaringen van de rechten van de mens. Volwassenen hebben de vrijheid om te beslissen over hun eigen relaties zonder inmenging van de staat. Het verbieden van relaties van mensen met een verschillende seksuele geaardheid is een schending van het Recht op Seksualiteit en het Recht op Privacy.
In 2020 publiceerde ILGA (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association) ‘State-Sponsored Homophobia‘, een rapport met diepgaande inzichten in de problemen waarmee LHBTQ+ mensen mee te maken hebben en de juridische situaties wereldwijd.
Volgens het rapport bestaat kan je alle landen in de wereld indelen in verschillende mate van juridische bescherming en erkenning op het gebied van seksuele geaardheid. Zo zijn er enkele landen in de wereld die de vrijheid van seksuele en genderidentiteit in de grondwet hebben opgenomen. Aan de andere kant van het spectrum zitten de landen die afwijkende vormen juist criminalisering en strafbaar stellen. De onderstaande kaart laat de duidelijk de verschillen zien tussen landen.
De aanpak van de strijd voor LHBTQ+ rechten zal altijd uniek zijn voor een land, wat het belang aantoont van lokale kennis en begrip bij het campagne voeren voor LHBTQ+ rechten.
Over de fotograaf
Ksenia Kuleshova is een hardwerkende dromer, die altijd probeert om het nieuwsgierige kind in zich te behouden.
Ze voltooide een Bachelor in “Fotojournalistiek en Documentaire Fotografie” aan de Hochschule Hannover. Momenteel volgt ze een masteropleiding “Photographic Studies” aan de University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund. In 2020 nam ze deel aan het Canon Ambassador Programme en was ze W. Eugene Smith Student Grant Recipient.
Ze nam deel aan de World Press Photo Foundation Joop Swart Masterclass 2018 en de 6e jaarlijkse New York Portfolio Review en werd door Artsy genoemd als een van de 20 rijzende Vrouwelijke Fotojournalisten (2019) en door de British Journal of Photography als een van de 31 vrouwen om naar uit te kijken voor (2018). Haar werk is internationaal tentoongesteld en gepubliceerd, onder meer in The New York Times, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, DIE ZEIT, GEO France, en anderen. Ze is aangetrokken tot de kracht van het karakter van mensen. Hun passie voor het leven en de liefde inspireert haar. Ze is op zoek naar echte gevoelens, oprechte en pure emoties. Ze wil dat haar verhalen avontuur en ontdekking uitdrukken. Iets dat woorden te boven gaat, iets metaforisch. Ze kan haar filosofie over het leven en fotografie als een manier van ontdekken, het ontwikkelen van haar persoonlijkheid, altijd op zoek naar nieuwe horizonten.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 12/08/2018. Maria Krugovaya (left) and Anastasia Vyadro (right) are brushing their teeth in Maria’s flat in Saint Petersburg. They have been together for 7 months and plan to start living together soon. Maria (35) is from Saint Petersburg is a photographer (sensual portrait, erotica, nude) and openly gay. Anastasia (29) is from Saratov. She is a choreographer, dancer and an actor in the immersive show “Faceless”.
Russia, Moscow, 11/04/2019. Elena G. (73) in her living-room. She is openly gay and she holds a private archive of LGBT-media issued in Russia from 1990s. The archive can’t be found online, but she gave me a permission to use it in the project.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 30/07/2018. Anna Gavrilova (left) and Jane Sytenko (right) on the sofa with Jane’s mother Irina (in the middle). Anna (25) and Jane (30) have recently celebrated their one year dating anniversary. They have a tradition to ask each other if they agree to marry each day at 16:16.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 17/08/2018. The portrait is of Maria Krugovaya in her flat in Saint Petersburg. Maria (35) is a photographer (sensual portrait, erotica, nude) and is openly gay.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 17/08/2018. Maxim Avdeev (right), Victor Repetsky (middle) and their friend sasha Amplituda (right) are going to the nightclub “Танцплошадка” in Saint Petersburg.
Maxim Avdeev (25) from Agryz, lives in Saint Petersburg for 5.5 years already. He is an actor, an english teacher, a vogue dancer, and a model.
Victor Repetsky (22) from Nakhodka lives in Saint Petersburg for 4 years. He is a professional vogue dancer (House of BONCHINCHE), a dance teacher and a model. Maxim and Victor are open gay and have been together for 8 months.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 30/05/2018. Miss Tekila smokes in the gay club “Central Station SPB” after her performance. Alexandr Govorukhin (30) from Montschegorsk has lived in Saint Petersburg for 12 years already. He is a travesti actor (stage name is Miss Tekila) at the “Central Station SPB” gay club, “The Blue Oyster” gay bar and a makeup artist. Alexandr is openly gay.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 12/08/2018. Maria Krugovaya (left) is caressing her girlfriend Anastasia Vyadro (right) who is caressing their cat Sam at the same moment. They are together for 7 months and plan to start living together soon.
Belarus, Minsk, 07/04/2018. Maxim Avdeev (right) and Victor Repetsky (left) take a shower in a rental flat in Minsk.
Russia, Moscow, 10/04/2019. Alena Zhogol (left, 22) and Katya Rosolovskaya (right, 23) are in their flat. They have been together for three years and are openly gay.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 12/08/2018. Maria Krugovaya (left) and Anastasia Vyadro (right) in the bed in Maria’s flat in Saint Petersburg.
Russia, Moscow, 17/04/2019. Sofia Beridze (21) is a transgender woman.
She has both Georgian and Russian nationality. Her Georgian family knows and accept her identity.
Russia, Moscow, 14/04/2019. Konstantin Prima (28) in his bath tub. He is openly gay. He earns his money by performing as the famous Russian singer Alla Pugacheva.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 03/08/2018. Kirill Chkanov (26) hugs his boyfriend Alexandr Govorukhin (30) in Alexandr’s flat in Saint Petersburg. Kirill Chkanov (26) from Samara is an ABA therapist. He lives in Saint Petersburg for 4 years. His family and friends know about his homosexuality. Kirill works with children and prefers not to tell their parents that he is gay.
Alexandr Govorukhin (30) from Montschegorsk lives in Saint Petersburg for 12 years already. He is a travesti actor (stage name Miss Tekila) at the “Central Station SPB” gay club, “The Blue Oyster” gay bar and a makeup artist. Alexandr is an open gay. Alexandr and Kirill have been together for 4 months.
Russia, Moscow, 04/08/2019. Yana Alexandrova and Natalia Remizova in the swimming pool. Yana and Natalia got married in Portugal and moved to Barcelona in October 2019.
Russia, Saint Petersburg, 17/08/2018. Victor Repetsky and Maxim Avdeev are hugging each other near a nightclub in Saint Petersburg.
Protection by law
No ‘Right to Sexuality’ explicitly exists in international Human Rights law, however, this Right is found in several International Declarations of Human Rights. Further, adults have the freedom to decide on their own, consensual relationships, without interference from the State. To prohibit the relationships of people of diverse sexual orientation is a breach of the Right to Sexuality and the Right to Privacy.
In 2020, ILGA (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association) published ‘State-Sponsored Homophobia’, a report sharing deep insights into the issues LGBTQ+ people face and the legal situations globally.
According to the report, all countries in the world can be classified according to different degrees of legal protection and acceptance of sexual orientation. For example, there are some countries in the world that have included the freedom of sexual and gender identity in their constitutions. At the other end of the spectrum are the countries that criminalise and punish deviant forms. The map below clearly shows the differences between countries.
The approaches in how LGBTQ+ rights are fought for will always be unique to a country, demonstrating the importance of local knowledge and understanding when campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights.
About the photographer
Ksenia Kuleshova is a hardworking dreamer who tries to preserve a curious child inside. She completed a Bachelor in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover. She is currently enrolled in the Master’s program in “Photographic Studies” at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, in Dortmund, Germany. Ksenia is the 2020 W. Eugene Smith Student Grant Recipient, and in 2020 she joined the Canon Ambassador Programme.
She participated in the World Press Photo Foundation Joop Swart Masterclass 2018 and the 6th Annual New York Portfolio Review and was named by Artsy as one of the 20 Rising Women Photojournalists (2019) and by the British Journal of Photography as one of the 31 women to look out for (2018). Her work has been exhibited and published internationally, including in The New York Times, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, DIE ZEIT, GEO France, and others. She is drawn to the strength of people’s character, their passion for life and love inspires her. Her work looks for real feelings, sincere and pure emotions, and she wants her stories to express adventure and discovery – something that is beyond words, something metaphorical. She describes her philosophy about life and photography as a way of discovering, developing her personality, and always searching for new horizons.
